Very interesting. Auto Motor und Sport has the SL65 doing the standing 400m in 11.9s at 193 KPH = 120 MPH. Car and Driver has the SL600, obviously with software modifications a la Renntech, doing the standing quarter in 11.9s at 120 MPH. Four hundred meters is 99.4% as long as a quarter mile, so the results are comparable. As an owner of a Renntech SL600, this leaves me grinning ear to ear.

 

I would go for SL65 AMG.
I don't approve other tuners modifications
For me SL65 is more exclusive.
You can modify SL600 to be even faster and more powerful than SL65 [or maybe even SLR ] but it still will be "only" moded SL600 Surely price difference between SL600 and SL65 is based on this badge "SL65 AMG" and then on real performance.

 

true, well said, but an sl65 IS a modded sl600

 

Stock vs stock is the only way to do a comparsion....apples to apples. But stock really doesnt mean much unless warranty is the only thing you care about. Sure, be proud you have an awesomely modded car in that respect cuz you do. But let Renntech mod an SL65 and then its bye-bye Renntech SL600. Plus, if equally available which they arent, there is the APPROXIMATELY $80K price difference too which is nothing to sneeze at.

T

 

You guys who want to pay $50K for a badge are crazy. I take the badges off my cars anyway, so I agree with Sillydriver, get the SL600 with the Renntech mods and with the change, buy a C55.

An even better idea is for Sillydriver to sell me his SL600 next year hugely depreciated and with the change I can afford an S55.

 

that is part of it!

 

Guys, don't forget about the factory warrantee. I think buying factory is important, as my SL 55 is not a very reliable car. I say factory mod is the best buy for this reason alone.

 

Some quick facts. SL600 with highest Brabus performance kit is pretty much identical to the SL65 engine. There both of the same engine, and have similar modifications. They both have the same power. The weight is similar, but he 65 has a slip diff, im quite sure, and other aerodynamic, suspension and brake upgrades. So the 65 has to be quicker in a straight line, but much faster in corners.

The Car and driver 600 review is quite a one-off. To be accurate, both have to be tested same time, temperature track etc. Performance times can vary greatly from day to day at the same place, so at another track it is not really comparable. SL65 wins against stock 600.

 

As moa4r pointed out, the SL65 .. IS .. a modified SL600. Twenty years ago, AMG was just an independent aftermarket tuner. I lived in Chicago back then and they actually had a showroom in the northern suburbs. AMG cars were quite popular in my old neighborhood, particularly among CBOT commodity traders. The signature look of those cars was a monochromed paint job. The grill and all the other chrome bits would be painted with the body color, usually black, white or red. Your could select different tuning options and products from a menu back then: limited slip differential, suspension, whatever. Personally, I think it’s unfortunate that the absorption of AMG into Mercedes has changed all this, so that US customers are only able to buy AMG “series” cars like the 55 and 65, with their fixed selection of modifications. I guess Europeans are still able to order AMG “specials,” although as an American I have no sense of how their catalog compares with Brabus and the like. Usually, when something like the 65 comes along I’d be champing at the bit to get it, but that’s not the case here: partly because I don’t think the added cost delivers much value, but also because of some of the less desirable features of the total package that are forced upon you. For example, you cannot get the designo silver package I like so much (and have on my 600) on the AMG cars, and you cannot even get the stone leather interior: your only choices are black, gray or red. Nor can you get a wood-trimmed steering wheel, which purists probably despise but I happen to like. Also, I prefer the standard seats over the AMG sport seats. Since I’ve owned both the 55 and 600, I’ve spent plenty of time in both: the regular seat fits my backside better and its headrest is positioned a little better too. Finally, the 19 inch rims on the 65 would be problematic where I live because of Boston’s potholes. On the other side of the ledger, it would be nice to have the sporty AMG exhaust and the stiffer suspension available on the sport setting of the AMG car. The point here is that I’m not sure I would choose the 65 over the 600 I have even if they were the same price! I would if there were a noticeable performance difference but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I would be surprised if the 65 were much faster in corners because the two cars have the same weight, the same weight distribution and can be set up with similar tires. In terms of acceleration, I admit it’s reasonable that the 65 would be a tick faster, even though the tests don’t bear this out. Nevertheless, I think the enlargement of the engine to 6.0 liters is a bit of a waste. As comments by AMG personnel have confirmed, the twin-turbo V12 is ultimately limited by the capacity of its turbochargers. AMG has gotten around this by changing out half of each turbocharger: the compressor side. Here’s a bit of trivia: the exhaust turbines are actually the same as on the 600 because the turbine housings are cast as a single piece along with the exhaust manifolds and hence too difficult to modify. AMG would have gotten to within a hairs breadth of the same power just by changing the compressors and adding boost without altering the displacement (and Kleemann and Renntech are willing to do this for you) so the expense of boring and stroking the engine has no payback. As it is, I’m satisfied with the performance of my 600, which is traction limited below 70 MPH. So my bottom line is that while the 55 is a vastly different beast than the 500, I don’t think the 65 is much more attractive than the 600.

 

Just an FYI. Hartmut Feyhl ran AMG North America out of Chicago and he is also the owner/brains at RennTech. He's still very connected to Mercedes, AMG, Bosch, Seimans and etc, etc, etc... He left AMG when it sold to Mercedes and started RennTech here in So. Florida... He's about as "wired in" as one could get as far as Mercedes tuning...

 

I toured the AMG factory two weeks ago. It was a blast. There were lots of European customer cars there that they dropped off for further modifications. I would estimate that 75% of these mods were cosmetic, mostly rear seat DVD video systems. I saw one green E55 (a special color I had never seen before) and AMG built a matching green leather interior. It was horrible! Based on what I saw, I am not sure we are missing anything.

What would be nice is if the Designo program offered more choices or even customization options. Aston will build a DB9 in any color combination I specify.

 

I agree with you about Designo, although my eye for color is so bad I would probably end up ordering something horrible. The willingness that Aston Martin and Bentley have to satisfy their customers with leather and exterior paint colors of their choice is certainly in their favor. I’ve always been amazed that Mercedes gives its US customers so few choices. A dealer once told me that this is because 1) US customers pay on delivery rather than order and 2) cars may be returned under US lemon laws. Mercedes is afraid of being stuck with cars in unearthly shades of green that they could not resell. Nevertheless, their policy seems penny wise and pound foolish given the reduction in customer satisfaction it entails.

 

Hmm, that's strange.
I was told that i can order almost anything i want at AMG.
Maybe, really, it's because i live in Europe.
I saw in gremany a CL55 AMG with stone interior and special paint finish...[some kind of green]. i'm not sure but i think here it would be no problem to have AMG and Designo together.

 

Us Americans get the shaft. Designo is commonly referred to.. Crapo.

 

sillydriver, u live on the north shore? I think i saw u on route 1 south going over the tobin.

 

I live in Hamilton and drive in over the Tobin at about 6 AM every weekday. I hope you didn't catch me in any misbehavior!

 

it wouldn't matter if you have the money to blow

but each to their own

 

I like what you said " with the change"

 

flying thru the toll booth, hehe. I love your car!

 

Supposedly, per the AMG page, the 65 has LARGER turbos than the 600.

 

Well bigger is always better right?

 

Yes as long as your not talking about women.

 

You're so naughty at night

 

agree with you, on the straight yeah maybe the sl600 is about the same, but through in handling and it's end of story. plus if you talk about putting a chip on the sl600, how about putting a chip (i am sure one will come out) on the sl65? the sl600 will see a nice set of taillights